Today’s message is titled “Have You Seen God?” Have you seen God? When we share the gospel of Jesus, we sometimes hear people say, “If you show me God, then I’ll believe!” Right? We hear that from time to time.

But actually, if we think about it carefully, we don’t only believe in what we have seen. We already believe many things we have never seen with our own eyes.

Who created the Korean alphabet, Hangeul? You probably know it was King Sejong. But have you ever seen him working hard, creating Hangeul? None of us has. And yet, we still believe it.

And do you know which general defeated 200 Japanese warships in the Battle of Myeongnyang?[1] It was Admiral Yi Sun-sin. He defeated them with only twelve ships. Can you imagine that? It sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it? Yet we believe it is true. We haven’t seen it, but we believe it. Sometimes, we even believe things that are hard to believe.

But actually, when we hear the words, “Believe in God,” it’s not always easy for us to accept. Yet, we can quickly believe other things. Someone says, “I heard he’s in trouble for what he did!” And without even seeing it, what do we say? “I knew it!” We accept it right away. Even if it’s not true, we still say, “Well, he had it coming,” and believe it.

So, in the end, humans all have a strong tendency to believe right away what they want to accept. But when it’s something they don’t want to accept, they can stubbornly refuse to believe it—no matter how much evidence there is. That’s why, even when they hear, “Believe in God! Believe in Jesus!” it can still be hard for them to accept. Some may say, “Where is God? All that talks about Jesus is lies,” and turn away.

However, believing in God and believing in Jesus—it starts with hearing: we hear it, and then we know it. We hear, and then we believe. Think about the examples we just mentioned—King Sejong or Admiral Yi Sun-sin—someone told us about them. Their stories were recorded in books, passed down by historians, and relayed to us—that is why we believe them. In the same way, we believe in God because someone told us about Him.

You’ve heard the words, “Jesus rose from the dead,” haven’t you? One of the greatest reasons we believe in Jesus is this: He died, and then He came back to life. That is an extraordinary thing. In all the world, who has ever died and then lived again? Yes, there have been rare cases where someone came back to life—someone even sat up in the coffin before their burial. But they didn’t go on living forever. Even if they came back to life, after a few years, they died again. But Jesus’ resurrection was not like that. He rose from the dead and is still alive today. This is what we believe.

But you haven’t seen that yourself, have you? You didn’t see Jesus rise from the dead, and you haven’t seen Him alive today. But there were people who did see Him! And they didn’t just see Him after He rose—they touched Him with their own hands. Also, they heard the risen Lord speak. They even ate a meal with Him. And about 500 people, all at once, witnessed Him ascend into the sky until He disappeared into the clouds, gone from sight.

And still—you find it hard to believe, don’t you? But some people did see it. They saw it all with their own eyes, and they passed it on to us. That’s why we believe in it today.

When we think about it from common sense, we might ask, “Could that really happen?” It’s not easy to believe. I was the same—by common sense alone, it’s hard to believe. But now, I absolutely have a firm faith. I didn’t see it myself, but I surely believe that it happened.

If we believe and stop there, it could easily turn into “blind faith”—just saying, “I’ll believe it no matter what!” without thinking. But here’s something very important: once we believe, we begin to experience it. We begin to experience the works of the risen Jesus. If He had not risen, how could He be at work today? No matter how much we prayed, He wouldn’t hear our prayers. No matter how much we prayed for the sick, they wouldn’t be healed. And yet, when believers obey His words as He promised, they experience things beyond what humans can even imagine.

So what are some of the most basic things we see? Before Jesus went up to heaven, He made a promise: “These signs will follow those who believe.” In simpler words, “These testimonies will follow those who believe.” In other words, He promised that evidences would follow to testify to the incredible fact that Jesus is alive today. He said that He Himself would personally give us this testimony. And then He went up to heaven.

From that time on, the disciples went out and testified, “Jesus had risen from the dead.” This is the faith we hold—to believe in that testimony. But if the testimonies Jesus promised had never appeared—if they had never shown—those people would have stopped after ten years or so, saying, “This is pointless. It was all false. I was deceived.” Even if those who had a personal relationship with Jesus had carried on out of old affection for Him while they were alive, those who had never seen Him would have heard the message—“I believe what that person told me”—but they would have lost heart and quit within a year.

All the more, believing in Jesus has never been an easy thing. It may be easy to start believing, but keeping that faith in the world brings many challenges. At times, there is persecution. There is an attack. And although this is not the case in our country now, in some eras of history believers have been beheaded for their faith in Jesus. Even today, in other parts of the world, it still happens. Groups like IS have often beheaded people—and though it is rarely reported in the news, thousands are beheaded each year around the world simply because they believe in Jesus.

And yet, these believers have not given up. Are they stupid? Are people really that foolish? Everyone thinks they are smart, and to some extent, they are. And they can think for themselves. And it’s not just me—people everywhere who think this way. But it is not because they are fools that they keep holding on to the truth, “Jesus has risen!” They have testimony. They have experienced it for themselves.

And what is this testimony? Jesus said, “These signs will follow those who believe: they will speak with new tongues.” In other words, “I will give them a new tongue.” This means they will speak strange words that did not exist in this world before. We commonly call this “speaking in tongues.” Those of us who believe in Jesus speak in tongues. If you heard it for the first time, you might be shocked. “What is this? It almost sounds like frogs croaking!” But this is not for people to understand—it is our spirit praying directly to God.

Later, this will come upon you as well. And this is not something you can learn in school or a language class. Many people have had this experience: when they receive the Holy Spirit, whom God sends as a gift from God, it suddenly bursts out. You cannot control it. You are not trying to do it, but suddenly, while you are praying, these strange words come out of your mouth. Countless people have experienced this—from two thousand years ago until today.

And Jesus also said, “These signs will follow those who believe: they will cast out demons.” How will they cast them out? Not by performing shamanistic rituals, but “in My name.” In the name of Jesus, we drive out demons.

Some people might say, “Where are demons?” and deny their existence because they cannot see them. But they are real. People have known this since ancient times. Even though they haven’t seen them, they know—so in the legends of nations all over the world, there are stories about demons. Many have had experiences with them. And because people fear these spirits, they perform rituals to drive them away. Go ask a shaman whether demons exist or not. If there were no demons, would there be so many shamans? Of course not. Shamans are empowered by certain demons to drive out or appease weaker ones.

But believers in Jesus cast out demons. That’s why someone who once feared demons, after believing in Jesus and experiencing this promise, no longer fears them. Aren’t demons considered one of the most frightening things in the world? Yet we curse them in Jesus’ name, and it is the demons who tremble with fear before us who believe in Him.

And Jesus also said, “These signs will follow those who believe: they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” “If they lay hands on the sick, they will be healed.” This promise is not something experienced by only one or two people, nor is it something that happened only long ago—it still happens today. And it is not for a special few; anyone who believes in Jesus can experience it.

Especially, in our Sungrak Church, the senior overseer Ki-Dong Kim displayed great power not long after he first believed in Jesus. He received it as the very promise God had given him and introduced it to many people—because it was written in the Bible. That is why so many believers in Sungrak Church have experienced such healing. Our church has more people who live out their faith after being healed than any other church.

What is especially unique about our church is this: it is not only that we receive healing for ourselves, but even those who have just been healed can lay hands on the sick and see them recover. These experiences are not limited to special individuals; they are for all believers—anyone who simply believes can experience them.

When I began my faith life, I was called to military service after only three months. During those three months, I had heard these words: “Believers have the power. Lay hands on the sick in Jesus’ name.” So in the army, even as a new believer, I laid hands on every sick person I met. And after just three months, the power of God began to appear. From that time until now, it has never stopped. It started with headaches or back pain and later, more serious ones: the blind. Several blind people have received their sight. The paralyzed have risen and walked. Those who could not walk have begun walking. Just as it is written in the Bible.

God Himself is invisible, but the way He works can be seen like this. So even though we have not seen Jesus with our own eyes, we believe the testimony of those who saw His resurrection and told us about it. And as I followed Him, the living Jesus has revealed to me that He is truly alive. I am telling you this because I want the same to happen for you.

So where does our faith come from? The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing.” And where does hearing come from? It has to be told, doesn’t it, for people to hear? For it to be heard, there must be someone who will speak it. One person tells it, then the next person passes it on, and then another. But if we only hear it and stop there, there is no boldness. We can’t speak. But we didn’t stop at hearing—we believed. And we didn’t stop at believing—we experienced it. And even now we experience it, we can proclaim it with boldness. We have held the testimony.

Then, we have not seen Him with our own eyes—we have heard, and we have believed. But what about the first people? Did they also not see Him? No, that’s not the case. If no one had ever seen Him, wouldn’t that mean we were simply imagining and believing? But the first people did see. People two thousand years ago saw something—what did they see? They saw the risen Jesus. So if someone were to ask, “Have you seen God?” we can answer, “Yes, I haven’t seen Him with my own eyes, but there are people who did.” We are hearing their testimony. The only reason we haven’t seen Him ourselves is because we weren’t born two thousand years ago. If we had been alive then, we would have seen Him too. Even now, we hold the evidence that the risen Jesus has given.

So what did the people two thousand years ago see? They saw God. But how can anyone see God, who is invisible? They saw Jesus Christ. To the people of that time, Jesus appeared as a young man from Nazareth—a small village. Yet through everything He did, they saw the works of God. And through everything He did, they saw who God is. He Himself is God. To see Him was to see God. And that is what we believe.

Muslims also say they believe in the God we believe in. They say that too. But Muslims say that God cannot be seen. Yet we believe that “Jesus is God Himself”—we believe He is equal with God.

But then, someone might ask, “How can a man be God? He ate meals, He slept, He went to the bathroom—how could He possibly be God?” What we believe is this: God Himself testified about Jesus. When Jesus was baptized—and you too will be baptized one day—when He came up out of the water, several people heard God’s own voice testify. What did He say? “This is My beloved Son—My heir! I have given Him all the glory I possess.” And then He said, “This is the Christ! This is the One in whom I am well pleased, because He does everything I command—and so I am well pleased with Him!” So that is how we know.

Jesus is equal with God and does the works of God. So when He was on this earth, as I mentioned earlier, He healed the sick, drove out demons, and did many works. Those who were oppressed and unable to enjoy freedom—by sickness, by poverty, by death itself—He set them free. But whenever He did such works, He would always say, “It is not I who am doing this, but God who dwells in Me does the works!”

Now, imagine—someone is performing amazing works: healing the sick, preaching the gospel, casting out demons, and drawing the attention of the crowds. Yet instead of saying, “This is my power,” He says, “This is all the work of God! My Father God, who is in Me, is the One working this.”

So what do you think people said when they heard this? They didn’t say, “Oh, how humble.” No—they said, “How arrogant!” “What? He’s saying that God is in Him? That God is His Father? Then He’s claiming to be the Son of God? What an arrogant, blasphemous man! It would be better if He just said, ‘I did it myself.’” People became furious. Up until then, they had followed Jesus, saying, “Jesus is a good man! He helps people.” But the moment Jesus said, “This is the work of My Father God. The God who dwells in Me is the One doing this,” they became angry and later sought to kill Him—and in the end, they did kill Him. Why? Because of His claim that it was God who made Him do these things. What people wanted to hear was this: “It’s your own power. You achieved this by your own discipline or by gaining some mysterious power. It’s not God doing it.”

But let’s say—while Jesus was alive—suppose He really did all those works by His own power. Let’s just go with what people claimed. But what happened later? People pierced Him with a spear, nailed Him to a cross, and killed Him. His blood and water flowed out until there was nothing left—He was completely dead. He died that very day, and the next day He lay in the tomb the whole day. So a full day had passed. And then came the third day.

Now, can someone whose body has been drained of blood and life rise again? If He healed the sick, walked on water, and cast out demons by His own power, wouldn’t those amazing works only be possible while He was still alive? Such wonders could only be done because He was living, right? Even if it were His own power, He was already dead. And that means He could do nothing. He could no longer perform any miracles—absolutely nothing at all.

But then, something happened that was even more amazing than all the miraculous signs and wonders He had performed before. What was it? He came back to life. Did He raise Himself? No—someone raised Him. Death means being able to do nothing on one’s own. Even if someone kicks the feet of a dead person, they won’t be offended. Even if someone can tickle them, there will be no reaction. They cannot come back to life. And yet—He did rise. Someone raised Him to life.

And who was that someone? It was God. That’s how we know there is God. No matter how powerful Jesus might have been, once He died, He could do nothing. Even if He had falsely claimed, “I am the Son of God,” everything would have ended when He died. But after He died, He truly rose again—just as He had said beforehand.

What does this mean? It means the Father who was in Him did it. The Father is unseen. Jesus could be seen, but the Father God who worked in Him could not be seen. And yet, because this unseen God raised Him, we believe in the God we cannot see.

So when someone asks, “Do you believe in god?” we answer, “Yes, I believe in god!” “And which god do you believe in?” “I believe in the god who raised Jesus—the man called ‘Jesus’—from the dead. Many people have died, but unlike all of them, the god raised Him from the dead. I believe in that god. That god exists.”

And why did this god raise this Man? To prove what Jesus had said—that “His words were true.” And what did He say? “I and the Father are one.” Therefore, we believe that Jesus is one with God the Father. This is why He is God.

So to see Jesus is to see God. When Jesus was crucified, it was our Creator God who did it. For the sake of beings like us—so weak, deceitful, and evil—the very God who made us sacrificed Himself.

Now you can see who God is, can’t you? He is full of love. Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father; he who believes in Me does not believe in Me alone, but in the Father who sent Me.” So now we can boldly say, “We are those who have seen God, touched God, and we are those who heard the voice of God.”

Therefore, the passage we read earlier was written by John. He was one of Jesus’ disciples. And this is how he evangelized, through that very word. “These things we write to you…”—he was writing a letter— “that you also may have fellowship with us. We have seen God, heard God, and touched God. That God is the Word, who was with God from the beginning, from eternity past. That Word became flesh, and that very One is Jesus. And we write to you so that you too may have fellowship with Him.”

And what is this fellowship? It is our fellowship with Jesus Christ and with God the Father. From the beginning, Jesus and the Father are one. And now we are being invited into that oneness. We are to become one with God. It means, we become a god. That is why it says, “Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.”

Those who have this fellowship—these human beings like beasts—are now treated as gods. So before us stand two paths: will we live like beasts and die without meaning? Or will we accept the honor God has given us and be treated as a god—treated as God?

Those who believe in Jesus are treated as God. That’s why demons are driven out. They recognize that we are God, and so they leave. This is faith.

When I cast out demons—when we believers cast out demons—we are not worried, “Oh, what should I do? Do I have the power for this?” Rather, we say, “I am already one with God.” In the eyes of the demons, I am God. And so, with the authority of God, we command, “Demon, come out!” And they surrender. Sickness leaves as well. So believers do pray, “Lord, please heal this sickness. Please heal this sickness.” But sometimes, we act differently. Because we are God, we look at the sickness and say, “Leave! The sickness, go!” “Leave! Fever, go!”

My children have grown. When raising children, we have times when they get sick. If my son came to me and say, “Dad, I have a headache,” sometimes I prayed, “Lord, please help my child. Please let this headache be completely gone.” But many more times, it went like this: “Dad, I have a headache.” “Don’t be sick.” Done. And my son would say, “Dad, it’s gone!” That happened many times. Why did I do it that way? Because I am the one who has fellowship with God, the one who is one with God. So I give the command: “Be blessed!” “Don’t be sick!”

Jesus did the same. When the waves were raging, He didn’t say, “Father, please help the sea to be calm.” He said, “Be still!” He didn’t say, “Father, please help this demon to leave.” He said, “Go!” And to sickness, He said, “Leave!” This is how we command.

Then, there was a time when Pastor Ki-Dong Kim had to build a sanctuary without a single penny. Yes, he prayed, “Lord, please give us land so we can build a sanctuary.” But he also went and stood right in front of the land and said, “Land!”—what did he do?—“Come back! Land, come! Land, come! Return to us!” He proclaimed it like that. He commanded it. And it came. That is how the sanctuaries now were built.

This is what it means for a believer in Jesus to live with the authority of a god—the authority of God. A person who believes in Jesus is not just a nice and kind person. A believer is not simply someone walking around with a Bible, trying to look nice, or appearing powerless. A believer in Jesus may even have a rough character. But a believer in Jesus is one who possesses the authority of a god. That is the very essence of a Christian.

In one sense, we are people who “believe because we have seen God.” In another sense, we believe because we have heard Him. We believe because we have met Him. It is not because we have never seen Him and simply imagined Him.

Now, if you believe this, you will personally experience the authority of this god. I bless you in the name of Jesus, that such marvelous works may be done in you.

I’ll pray.

God our Father, we thank You for granting us such great authority. May we all believe the words of those who have seen Jesus and testified of Him, receive them, and thus experience the living God. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Now, at this time, I’d like us to pray together. This is a prayer to receive Jesus, or a prayer to confess that the words you have just heard are now yours. For those who are not used to praying, I will pray first, and you can repeat after me—one line at a time. Now, please close your eyes.

“God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead,
Thank You for letting me hear this good news.
I believe the words
of those who saw the resurrection of Jesus
and testified to it!
Let me also experience God!
Help me no longer live like an animal,
but live like the Creator God.
Let me have fellowship with You, God,
and with Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Make me one with You.
I want to live as a god.
I want to enjoy eternal life.
I want to enjoy Your happiness.
I am not worthy.
But I rely on Jesus’ merit.
Please receive me!
I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

Father God, as I and the souls here have made this confession before You, please hear us and answer. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

[1] The Battle of Myeongnyang (1597) was a famous naval battle in Korea. Admiral Yi Sun-sin fought against over 200 Japanese warships and won with only 12 ships.